A recently popular sport, snowboarding presents operating conditions and physical demands to boot buckles that are not dissimilar to other skiing-type sports. In snowboarding, the operator stands with both feet on the snowboard, somewhat similar to a Slalom-type water ski. Given the sophisticated structure of presently manufactured boots for ski-type sports and the operating conditions the boots are subject to, a reliable and tight connection between the foot and ankle of the rider and the boot is required. To accomplish this often requires a complex mechanism and considerable strength on the part of the user to operate the buckle mechanism properly.
Many of the foregoing problems have been resolved by the provision of a ratchet-type buckle. The ratchet-type buckle provides a large mechanical advantage to a user and permits incremental tightening of the boot in steps determined by the dimensions of the ratcheting teeth. Examples of these prior art types of ratcheting buckles are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,326,320 issued Apr. 27, 1982 to Riedel ("Riedel"), and U.S. Pat. No. 4,547,980 issued Oct. 22, 1985 to Olivieri ("Olivieri").
Notwithstanding the foregoing ratchet-type buckle arrangements, there are still major problems involved. The straps of the ratchet-type buckle are typically tightened by pivoting a lever about the axis of a pin. In addition to the lever arm, an additional element, such as a pawl, must be used to prevent the strap from being pulled back in the non-tensioning direction, i.e., to place the strap in a one-way locked position.
In ratchet-type buckles, it is necessary to include a release mechanism to release or unlock the pawl from the strap so that the strap can be pulled back in the non-tensioning direction. However, it is just as important to ensure that the ratchet-type buckle does not permit inadvertent release of the strap in the non-tensioning direction. In the latch-type mechanism disclosed by Riedel, the tensioning lever 2 can easily be inadvertently pivoted to a position as shown in FIG. 7, thus causing an accidental release of the rack 1. In the latch-type mechanism of Olivieri, the inadvertent depression of portion 8b of the pawl 8 will cause an accidental release of tie 18.
It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide a ratchet-type buckle that permits incremental ratcheting of the strap in a tensioning direction while simultaneously preventing inadvertent release of the strap from the one-way locked position. It is a further object to provide a lever which is a non-load bearing member when the strap is tightened.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a ratchet-type buckle that requires less parts and, thus, is smaller and easier to manufacture. It is still a further object of the present invention that the ratchet-type buckle arrangement be simple and cost effective to manufacture, yet reliable and efficient in use.